[S]ometimes when we wonder [why], we can make things begin to happen".

*

Estuaries require everyone’s help and hard work to keep them clean and safe. There are many things you can do to help protect estuaries and to conserve the valuable natural resource in estuarine ecosystems.

Use lawn fertilizer sparingly, or not at all. Follow product directions carefully. You'll keep it from washing into our streams and waterways.

Leave grass clippings on the lawn. Clippings decompose and are efficient, natural fertilizers.

Cut grass to proper height. A little more height is healthy, leading to a deeper root system and less erosion.

Use native plants. Gardening and landscaping with plants native to your area reduces the need for watering and fertilizing your garden.

Think before you pour. Too many hazardous products flow from drains through sewage plants into coastal rivers and estuaries.

Keep septic systems working properly. Pump every three years to assure proper working condition.

Use lawn care products sparingly, or not at all. Always follow the directions carefully. If these products wash into streams, roadside ditches or street gutters, it can affect plants and animals far from your home.

Create nontoxic pesticides. A bit of soap and water added to strained chili pepper powder does the job, and keeps harmful chemicals from ending up in nearby waterways.

Respect life on the rock. If you turn over rocks at the beach, remember to put them back so that animals that live on top, like barnacles, stay on the top and those that live on the bottom stay on the bottom.

Have fun on the beach, but leave it clean. When you leave the beach or park, your trash should too. Be sure to bring enough bags to take all trash with you.

Don't trample. To view life in coastal regions, use a canoe or kayak so you don't destroy sensitive habitats.

Watch out for contamination. Support periodic testing to make sure that pesticides aren't contaminating golf course waters, adjacent creeks and groundwater.

Eliminate poisons. If you hunt or fish, use nontoxic alternatives to lead shot, sinkers and jigs.

Watch out for leaks. Be vigilant about harmful oil leaks from boat engines.

Mop up. Use environmentally friendly cleaning products, and don't clean up by tossing debris out to sea. Trash, chemicals, plastic bags and fishing lines can pollute or strangle vulnerable marine life.

Respect habitat. Treat the homes of vital marine life with care. Habitat and survival go hand-in-hand. When habitat disappears, some plants and animals do too.